Pediatrics: Neonatology

Patient Care and Clinical Programs

Fetal Concerns Center

The Fetal Concerns Center of Wisconsin is a collaborative effort between Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin. It is the only program of its type in Wisconsin offering compassionate individualized care when there is a fetal health concern in a pregnancy.

Fetal Concerns Center of Wisconsin accepts patient self-referrals as well as those from physicians. For more information or to make an appointment, call (414) 805-4776 in Milwaukee or Toll-free (855) FETALWI (338-2594).

Waukesha Memorial Hospital NICU

Waukesha County's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is at Waukesha Memorial Hospital to care for babies as early as necessary, even those weighing less than a pound. The hospital works closely with Medical College of Wisconsin neonatologists, physicians with expertise in the care of premature and sick infants. The neonatologist is on call around-the-clock to respond quickly to any problems that may arise during or after delivery. Neonatal nurse practitioners and respiratory therapists are also available 24 hours a day.

Waukesha Memorial is the first NICU in southeastern Wisconsin to make available Tele-echocardiography – a blend of technological and human expertise available to its tiny patients, sometimes weighing a pound or less. A tiny baby, born weeks premature, is suspected of having a heart problem. Time is critical. A staff of medical experts surrounds the infant's bassinet, including a pediatric cardiologist in attendance at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin via two-way imaging on television screens. A technician gently moves a wand again and again across the infant's tiny chest, transmitting computer images of the walnut-sized heart miles away to the remote expert's location for instant evaluation. No surgery is required and the child feels no discomfort. The process is accomplished live via teleconferencing technology. Simultaneously, the computerized echocardiography machine transmits sonar images of the beating heart and its blood flow via modem to the pediatric cardiologist for expert interpretation. This technology shaves critical hours off of diagnosis time - there is no time spent transporting studies and waiting for reports. Another advantage is that the test is right the first time. Tele-echocardiography allows for accurate assessment of the infant's condition and monitors the progress of the medical treatment in closing the passage.

The NICU, along with over 300 other NICU's, participates in Vermont Oxford, an international database that reports survival rates and clinical outcomes of premature babies less than 1500 grams (32 weeks). This database compares Waukesha Memorial clinical outcomes with that of other NICU's in the country.

Through ProHealth Care, Inc., the system formed by Waukesha Memorial and Oconomowoc Memorial hospitals, Oconomowoc Memorial, too, offers a seamless and immediate newborn transport system to ensure that infants get the extraordinary neonatal care they need at a facility that is close to home. Waukesha Memorial's Neonatal Transport Service is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Your call requesting transport is directed to a neonatologist who will mobilize the team required to meet the specific needs of the infant being transported to the Birthing Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery. Members of the transport team include qualified personnel. The neonatologist will be in close communication with the referring physician and transport team throughout the transport process. Infants are transported to Waukesha Memorial by a specially equipped ambulance.

Referral Hospitals

Faculty physicians in the Division of Neonatology also staff the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at the following hospitals. The Medical Directors of these hospitals are also members of the Medical College Neonatology Division.